Man Animal Conflict Forces Rahul Gandhi To Take a Break From Nyaya Yatra, Rush to Wayanad
Thiruvananthapuram: With Wayanad on the boil over the back-to-back deaths of two persons by wild elephants, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is the local MP, has taken a break from his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra to visit his constituency.
The information was shared by Jairam Ramesh on his Twitter handle on Saturday. "Rahul Gandhi’s presence is required urgently in Wayanad. He is leaving this evening from Varanasi at 5 PM. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will resume at 3 PM tomorrow, February 18th, at Prayagraj."
Rahul's sudden visit comes in the wake of huge protests being witnessed in Wayanad for the past two days. Thousands of people including women came out on the streets of Pulpally on Saturday, to protest against the forest department's inaction in reining in wild elephants that are killing the local people at will.
The joint action committee of local people had called for a hartal in Wayanad on Saturday.
The protestors blocked the roads with the body of Paul,52, who was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Friday. The protest turned violent with agitators pelting stones at the police which resorted to lathi charge.
After hours of protest, Paul’s body was brought to his native place where the funeral rites were held.
Earlier government sanctioned an amount of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to Paul's family. Of this amount, Rs 5 lakh will be handed over to the family members on Saturday.
Paul was a temporary guide at Kuruva Island Eco Tourism Centre. A week ago, Ajeesh, hailing from the same area, was trampled to death by a wild elephant in his backyard.
Prohibitory orders clamped in several parts of the district for two days.
Meanwhile, Wayanad collector on Saturday clamped prohibitory orders for two days given the tense situation prevailing in various parts of the district.
A high-level meeting will be held in Kalpetta on February 20 as directed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Revenue Minister K Rajan and Forest Minister A K Saseendran will preside over the meeting which will be attended by representatives of political parties, a joint action committee and elected representatives of the local bodies.
The meeting will chalk out a detailed plan to deal with the man-animal conflict in Wayanad district.